As always, copyright to characters from Rizzoli and Isles and Law and Order SVU reside with their rights holders. Thank you for letting us play with them.
Running in the Night Part 10
There was silence around the table for several seconds as Jane and Liv looked at each other, their expressions making their thoughts plain, before there was a gentle knocking at the door. A second later it opened and three waiters entered, each carrying a plate which was carefully placed in front of each of the three women. Their job done, they exited as silently as they had entered.
"Look Carmilla, I don't know what game you're playing..."
"It is no game Olivia, I know that you will find this hard to believe, but vampires do exist"
"Yeah right" Jane gathered herself to stand when Carmilla looked at her and spoke, her voice had changed, hardened, becoming one used to command and to being obeyed.
"You will remain seated Jane" Her head turned. "As will you Olivia" Both women sat back in their chairs, a puzzled look on both their faces, their bodies had reacted to the woman's command, obeying before they could stop it. "You will let me explain" Stunned by their bodies' reaction to Carmilla's command, both detectives said nothing.
"Vampires do exist, they have existed for uncounted centuries, exactly when they were created is a matter of some conjecture amongst scholars within the vampire community. The oldest we are aware of are more than two thousand years old, most however are much younger" Jane looked across at Liv, then spoke, the scepticism evident in her voice.
"You said we, you claiming to be a vampire too?" Carmilla smiled.
"Very good Jane; well picked up. Yes, I am a vampire, an elder vampire in fact" Liv rolled her eyes.
"So, we're supposed to believe you on the basis of your word?" Carmilla laughed softly, her voice suultry and warm
"Oh heavens no Olivia, you and Jane here are both detectives, creatures of rationality and logic, you seek proof do you not, evidence you can take before a jury" She tilted her head slightly. "What proof would you like; for me to turn into a bat and fly around the room perhaps, or turn into a wolf?" She shrugged. "Such shape shifting is beyond me, only the very oldest of our kind possess such powers, I could sprout fangs and bite you, but such is not my intention" Liv sat there, her arms crossed; Jane sat facing her, fists balled on the table, her temper obviously fraying quickly.
"I thought you had information about Maura and Alex, instead you're wasting our time. C'mon Liv, let's get out of here" Carmilla shrugged.
"Walk away and you will lose your best lead to your lovers, I understand you both, neither would do anything which might jeopardise their safe recovery. Am I wrong?" For a moment it looked like Jane was going to stand anyway, when Carmilla turned to her and smiled.
It took a second for Jane to register the canines suddenly growing longer, Carmilla's eyes shifting colour, the gold changing to a deeper colour, more and more red seeping into them, until the whites had become completely red. Unconsciously Jane found herself back on her feet, one hand on her pistol as the chair tipped back, clattering to the floor.
"What the fuck!?" Carmilla smiled even wider, before turning to face Olivia, who suddenly reared backwards in her chair, the shock evident in her face as she took in Carmilla's appearance.
"Does this appearance mesh with your assumptions about vampires? I would not normally look like this, but if conforming to the Hollywood stereotype helps prove my point then it will have sufficed" She indicated the meals sitting on the table.
"Now Jane, please sit down. If I'd wished to do you harm I could so easily have done so at any time I wished" Jane was still standing there, her eyes wide, staring at Carmilla as her eyes resumed their normal colour and the fangs shrank back to normal canines.
"Please sit Jane, your wild striped bass is cooling, which is a shame given the dish is quite delicious. You too Olivia, please, your pan roasted monkfish is one of the specialties of the house and is really rather good"
Exchanging a glance, both women saw just how close to the edge the other was, but drew strength from the other's presence, it was if they'd agreed without words, they could get through this together, Alex and Maura were relying on them.
Jane righted her chair and sat down, as Carmilla started on her lobster, as composed as if nothing had transpired. Finally, after another long exchange of glances with Jane, Liv spoke.
"So you're a vampire, they actually exist" Carmilla nodded, before placing her fork down and sitting back.
"Indeed. My tale is a little long, so both of you please eat, I understand it has been a stressful time for you these last few days and that you have hardly slept or eaten, I cannot help with the first but the second is available now, I suggest you take advantage of it"
"What about you" It was Jane. "I didn't think…vampires" The word dragged itself reluctantly from between Jane's teeth as she waved her hand at the table. "…needed to eat, food I mean" Carmilla nodded slowly.
"We do not; we draw our sustenance from ingesting blood. In that case the old legends are true, however we eat and drink for taste, in many cases it provides a tangible link to our lives as humans, before we were turned" She indicated the plate in front of Jane. "Please eat and I will try and explain. I will answer any questions afterwards" Jane looked across the table to Liv, sharing a slight nod before they both picked up their cutlery and started eating.
"Excellent. One reason I asked to meet you here is that the food is really rather good and I do like my food" She settled back, sipping her cognac.
"Where to start; given how long my tale is where to start indeed? Let us start with my beginning. I was born in the 14th century in what is today Eastern Europe. As a young woman I was renowned as something of a beauty and caught the eye of a passing noblewoman who turned out to be one of the earliest, oldest vampires. Kseniya was taken with me and in turn I with her. We became lovers and in the throes of passion she bit me, turning me into her immortal lover" She looked a trifle whistful for a moment, as if remembering past pleasures and pains.
"We were together for over five hundred years, helping shape the destiny of Europe. Together we acted as patrons of the arts, literature, science and medicine, helping push Europe out of its darkest times towards the future. We had a vision of a society grown wealthy and intelligent enough to accept our presence openly" A look of sorrow passed across her face, gone in an instant.
"Unfortunately such was not to be. Over time I came to realise our two species are too different to live knowingly together in harmony. So we set forth to advance humanity while taking steps to conceal our existence. Thus the belief today that vampires are myths and legends, created fiction for the entertainment of the masses" She shrugged.
"Who today would believe that vampires exist? Are they not a creation of Hollywood and various writers' imaginations? A useful smokescreen for our existence would you not agree?" Jane looked across at Liv then back at Carmilla.
"You said you were hundreds of years old and your partner was even older. How old do you…live?"
"Effectively we are immortal. If we ingest blood regularly, we do not age and exist quite happily, unchanged from the day we were transformed, in some respects improved. The oldest elder I am aware of is more than two millennia old however he has become quite mad. He is a recluse now, living in a monastery in a mountainous region of China, served by the latest scions of family's that have been his retainers for centuries, each new generation raised from birth to care for him. I believe that immortality weighs heavier as the millennia pass and that such is what eventually drove him mad" She paused to take a sip from her glass, for a moment from her expression she was far away, before she came back to them.
"There are vampires in every corner of the earth; we have effectively helped society to evolve to a point where we can be a hidden but integral part of modern society. Humanity does not know of our existence, save as myth and legend, allowing us to go about our business unrecognized and unmolested"
"How have you managed to stay hidden for centuries?"
"It has not been without its challenges; truly it has been a major task. However we have had no choice" Carmilla paused to pick up her cognac, holding the goblet between her palms and again swirling the liquor around the glass. When she spoke her voice was reflective and quiet.
"You humans have become exceptionally good at killing each other; most of your technological spurs have been discovering better and more effective ways of killing ever more of your fellow humans. If you were to discover that amongst you walked another race, predators who had the ability to feed upon you, who embody some of your worst, most primal fears, well I expect that all of that ferocious energy you devote to killing each other would rapidly be bent to exterminating our species, a task I have no doubt your kind would carry out with the same customary, ruthless efficiency that you bring to bear on killing each other"